Armadillos, Pigeons, and Turtles

I really like to run.
I'm not fast, and I'm not cute - I'm more frumpy. But I go a lot and I always enjoy it (unless it's right after a meal or on a treadmill).
My sister-in-law Stephanie was awesome and came over to watch the kids so I could go for a quick run Friday morning. I was grinning like an idiot for the first mile and a half.
I ran cross-country through high school and then I stopped for a while in college, but then I started again after Emily was born. And let me tell you, running in Texas is a whole different ballgame.

My very first run in Austin, I got home and found a leech-like grub on my leg.
I have had the only live armadillo I've ever seen cross the path right in front of me.
I have had someone's sweat splattered onto me (and I almost threw up. The trail gets very crowded Saturday morning!).
I have endured the potent scent of millions of bats living in a bridge I run under regularly.
I have run through poison ivy multiple times. It is awful stuff. Once I had it on one side of my face and neck and all across my eyes. I basically didn't leave the house for a week.
I have dashed out into traffic to save a turtle. And then gone the remainder of my run with salmonella hands. Eww!
I have had a pigeon fly into my head. I am disgusted by city birds and feathers. I even am grossed out by the wind kicked up by pigeon wings when they all take off. I was very traumatized by this experience.
And why is it always still 85 degrees at 6 in the morning?!

After all of this, I kept coming back for more. I loved that trail. My last weekend in Austin, I ran the entire loop, just to experience the whole thing. It was such a great run! You want to see?

This is the juice place that I pass every time I head down to the trail.

The lovely, well-kept community gardens.

My favorite sign - picnic tables, swimming, and dinosaurs! Rrawr!

Since the trail goes along a river, I cross a couple of bridges. Here is quite the awkward picture of this cute little bridge. That runner rounded the corner right as I pushed the button, I promise! We had sort of an awesome little nod-of-heads, sorry-about-that-whole-paparrazi-behavior exchange as we passed each other.

Standing on the Lamar pedestrian bridge. I do miss that cityscape!

Part of the trail on the north side of the river. Aren't those trees gorgeous? Kind of crazy that there's a major road probably 50 feet from the trail here.

The rowing dock.

And here's a picture of Joseph and golfer Jacob that I found in the same file as those others.

After that run, I swore to never run with anything in my hands again. So I will probably never post any other pictures of my running trails, unless I happen to walk the same route with a camera one day.
But I miss that trail! And I really like those two boys.